Our new "home"

Well as a military member I should be use to saying that but I type it and it seems a little weird.  We are embarking on a new adventure in our lives that will allow us to plant some final roots.  We are excited and a basket case of nerves as well.  We are building a brand new home and MAN IS IT SCARY!  I love that we get to pick out the home layout and colors and material but it sure does have a lot of red tape and fine lines to read between.  A whole bunch of number crunching and fun things like that that we never think of when we started this journey.  I will say if I look up one more granite color, marble color, mantle style,wood floor type or appliance my eyes may fall out of my head and hit the keyboard itself.  After a while you start to get confused and don't know what you like anymore.  :o) 


       So come October we will be living in Howell Michigan.  We are really excited.  I think it will be a great place for our kids to grow up.  In some small ways it reminds us of our life on a military base with the perks it has, close community development, community center and pool.  I love that the kids will be in walking distance from the pool.  That will make teenage years easy for Momma to keep an eye on them.  ;o)  See momma plans ahead. 

   Life for us all has changed a lot since Larry retired the Marine Corps.  He has had to adjust to civilian life and I know he misses the Corps a lot.  My children have had to say good bye to friends that they have gotten close to and move to an area where they can not just go outside an run freely with a dozen kids at any given time.  I miss that the most for my Abby.   The security of knowing my Military family was always watching my children and making sure they were safe as we did theirs in the neighborhood.   You just don't have that in the civilian life style.  I have had to watch friends move away that have become my family that I know I will never live next to as a neighbor ever again and that is hard.  Those women have become very much a part of my family as my blood family is to me.  Coming back to my home town has shown me how much I have grown apart from some people or maybe I should say they have grown apart from me.  I'm still here but I never expected them to go away.  I have had the chance to really reconnect with some family that I feel I've had some strain between us because of living far away so long and that has been wonderful.  You never realize what a sacrifice a person gives to be in the military whether it is the active duty person or the spouse and children.  I surely have a broader look on that subject after my tours with my Marine.  I have sacrificed more then I ever would have imagined I would have been asked to sacrifice but in the end I would do it again because my husband is a WONDERFUL man and my children mean the world to me and so do ALL my friends and Family.  I even love and care so very much for the ones who no longer stand by me.  I'm proud to say that number is small that do not but their absents are still missed and count.  Hold your love ones close and thank those who do give all for you everyday.  Not just military but others like Fireman and Police officers and EMT that even have to go into scary situations at times.  We so don't give thanks enough.